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lay |
12 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Lay \Lay\, n. The laity; the common people. [Obs.] The learned have no more privilege than the lay. --B. Jonson From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Lay \Lay\, n. A meadow. See {Lea}. [Obs.] --Dryden. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Lay \Lay\, n. [OF. lei faith, law, F. loi law. See {Legal}.] 1. Faith; creed; religious profession. [Obs.] Of the sect to which that he was born He kept his lay, to which that he was sworn. --Chaucer. 2. A law. [Obs.] ``Many goodly lays.'' --Spenser. 3. An obligation; a vow. [Obs.] They bound themselves by a sacred lay and oath. -- Holland. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Lay \Lay\, imp. of {Lie}, to recline. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Lay \Lay\, a. [OF. lai, lais, prob. of Celtic origin; cf Ir laoi, laoidh song, poem, OIr. laoidh poem, verse; but cf also AS l[=a]c play, sport, G. leich a sort of poem (cf. {Lake} to sport). ?.] 1. A song; a simple lyrical poem; a ballad. --Spenser. Sir W. Scott. 2. A melody; any musical utterance. The throstle cock made eke his lay. --Chaucer. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Lay \Lay\, a. [F. lai, L. laicus Gr ? of or from the people, lay, from ?, ?, people. Cf {Laic}.] 1. Of or pertaining to the laity, as distinct from the clergy; as a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay brother. 2. Not educated or cultivated; ignorant.[Obs.] 3. Not belonging to or emanating from a particular profession; unprofessional; as a lay opinion regarding the nature of a disease. {Lay baptism} (Eccl.), baptism administered by a lay person. --F. G. Lee. {Lay brother} (R. C. Ch.), one received into a convent of monks under the three vows, but not in holy orders {Lay clerk} (Eccl.), a layman who leads the responses of the congregation, etc., in the church service. --Hook. {Lay days} (Com.), time allowed in a charter party for taking in and discharging cargo. --McElrath. {Lay elder}. See 2d {Elder}, 3, note. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Lay \Lay\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Laid}; p. pr & vb n. {Laying}.] [OE. leggen, AS lecgan causative, fr licgan to lie; akin to D. leggen, G. legen, Icel. leggja Goth. lagjan. See {Lie} to be prostrate.] 1. To cause to lie down to be prostrate, or to lie against something to put or set down to deposit; as to lay a book on the table; to lay a body in the grave; a shower lays the dust. A stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den. --Dan. vi 17. Soft on the flowery herb I found me laid. --Milton. 2. To place in position; to establish firmly; to arrange with regularity; to dispose in ranks or tiers; as to lay a corner stone; to lay bricks in a wall; to lay the covers on a table. 3. To prepare; to make ready; to contrive; to provide; as to lay a snare, an ambush, or a plan 4. To spread on a surface; as to lay plaster or paint. 5. To cause to be still to calm; to allay; to suppress; to exorcise, as an evil spirit. After a tempest when the winds are laid. --Waller. 6. To cause to lie dead or dying. Brave C[ae]neus laid Ortygius on the plain, The victor C[ae]neus was by Turnus slain. --Dryden. 7. To deposit, as a wager; to stake; to risk. I dare lay mine honor He will remain so --Shak. 8. To bring forth and deposit; as to lay eggs. 9. To apply; to put She layeth her hands to the spindle. --Prov. xxxi. 19. 10. To impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; to assess, as a tax; as to lay a tax on land. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all --Is. Iiii. 6. 11. To impute; to charge; to allege. God layeth not folly to them --Job xxiv. 12. Lay the fault on us --Shak. 12. To impose, as a command or a duty; as to lay commands on one 13. To present or offer; as to lay an indictment in a particular county; to lay a scheme before one 14. (Law) To state; to allege; as to lay the venue. --Bouvier. 15. (Mil.) To point; to aim as to lay a gun. 16. (Rope Making) To put the strands of (a rope, a cable, etc.) in their proper places and twist or unite them as to lay a cable or rope. 17. (Print.) a To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone. b To place (new type) properly in the cases. {To lay asleep}, to put sleep; to make unobservant or careless. --Bacon. {To lay bare}, to make bare; to strip. And laid those proud roofs bare to summer's rain. --Byron. {To lay before}, to present to to submit for consideration; as the papers are laid before Congress. {To lay by}. a To save. b To discard. Let brave spirits . . . not be laid by --Bacon. {To lay by the heels}, to put in the stocks. --Shak. {To lay down}. a To stake as a wager. b To yield; to relinquish; to surrender; as to lay down one's life; to lay down one's arms. c To assert or advance, as a proposition or principle. {To lay forth}. a To extend at length; (reflexively) to exert one's self to expatiate. [Obs.] b To lay out (as a corpse). [Obs.] --Shak. {To lay hands on}, to seize. {To lay hands on one's self}, or {To lay violent hands on one's self}, to injure one's self specif., to commit suicide. {To lay heads together}, to consult. {To lay hold of}, or {To lay hold on}, to seize; to catch. {To lay in}, to store; to provide. {To lay it on}, to apply without stint. --Shak. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Lay \Lay\, v. i. 1. To produce and deposit eggs. 2. (Naut.) To take a position; to come or go as to lay forward; to lay aloft. 3. To lay a wager; to bet. {To lay about}, or {To lay about one}, to strike vigorously in all directions. --J. H. Newman. {To lay at}, to strike or strike at --Spenser. {To lay for}, to prepare to capture or assault; to lay wait for [Colloq.] --Bp Hall. {To lay in for}, to make overtures for to engage or secure the possession of [Obs.] ``I have laid in for these.'' --Dryden. {To lay on}, to strike; to beat to attack. --Shak. {To lay out}, to purpose; to plan as he lays out to make a journey. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Lay \Lay\, n. 1. That which lies or is laid or is conceived of as having been laid or placed in its position; a row; a stratum; a layer; as a lay of stone or wood. --Addison. A viol should have a lay of wire strings below. --Bacon. Note: The lay of a rope is right-handed or left-handed according to the hemp or strands are laid up See {Lay}, v. t., 16. The lay of land is its topographical situation, esp. its slope and its surface features. 2. A wager. ``My fortunes against any lay worth naming.'' 3. a A job, price, or profit. [Prov. Eng.] --Wright. b A share of the proceeds or profits of an enterprise; as when a man ships for a whaling voyage, he agrees for a certain lay. [U. S.] 4. (Textile Manuf.) a A measure of yarn; a lea. See 1st {Lea} a . b The lathe of a loom. See {Lathe}, 3. 5. A plan a scheme. [Slang] --Dickens. {Lay figure}. a A jointed model of the human body that may be put in any attitude; -- used for showing the disposition of drapery, etc b A mere puppet; one who serves the will of others without independent volition. {Lay race}, that part of a lay on which the shuttle travels in weaving; -- called also {shuttle race}. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: 3. The movable swing frame of a loom, carrying the reed for separating the warp threads and beating up the weft; -- called also {lay} and {batten}. {Blanchard lathe}, a lathe for turning irregular forms after a given pattern, as lasts, gunstocks, and the like {Drill lathe}, or {Speed lathe}, a small lathe which from its high speed, is adapted for drilling; a hand lathe. {Engine lathe}, a turning lathe in which the cutting tool has an automatic feed; -- used chiefly for turning and boring metals, cutting screws, etc {Foot lathe}, a lathe which is driven by a treadle worked by the foot. {Geometric lathe}. See under {Geometric} {Hand lathe}, a lathe operated by hand; a power turning lathe without an automatic feed for the tool. {Slide lathe}, an engine lathe. {Throw lathe}, a small lathe worked by one hand, while the cutting tool is held in the other From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Lie \Lie\, v. i. [imp. {Lay} (l[=a]); p. p. {Lain} (l[=a]n), ({Lien} (l[imac]"[e^]n), Obs.); p. pr & vb n. {Lying}.] [OE. lien, liggen, AS licgan; akin to D. liggen, OHG. ligen, licken, G. liegen, Icel. liggja Sw ligga, Dan. ligge, Goth. ligan, Russ. lejate, L. lectus bed, Gr le`chos bed, le`xasqai to lie. Cf {Lair}, {Law}, {Lay}, v. t., {Litter}, {Low}, adj.] 1. To rest extended on the ground, a bed, or any support; to be or to put one's self in an horizontal position, or nearly so to be prostate; to be stretched out -- often with down when predicated of living creatures; as the book lies on the table; the snow lies on the roof; he lies in his coffin. The watchful traveler . . . Lay down again and closed his weary eyes. --Dryden. 2. To be situated; to occupy a certain place as Ireland lies west of England; the meadows lie along the river; the ship lay in port. 3. To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition; as to lie waste; to lie fallow; to lie open to lie hid; to lie grieving; to lie under one's displeasure; to lie at the mercy of the waves; the paper does not lie smooth on the wall. 4. To be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place to consist; -- with in Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though unequal in circumstances. --Collier. He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard labor, forgets the early rising and hard riding of huntsmen. --Locke. 5. To lodge; to sleep. Whiles I was now trifling at home, I saw London, . . . where I lay one night only. --Evelyn. Mr Quinion lay at our house that night. --Dickens. 6. To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest. The wind is loud and will not lie. --Shak. 7. (Law) To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained. ``An appeal lies in this case.'' --Parsons. Note: Through ignorance or carelessness speakers and writers often confuse the forms of the two distinct verbs lay and lie. Lay is a transitive verb and has for its preterit laid; as he told me to lay it down and I laid it down Lie is intransitive, and has for its preterit lay; as he told me to lie down and I lay down Some persons blunder by using laid for the preterit of lie; as he told me to lie down and I laid down So persons often say incorrectly, the ship laid at anchor; they laid by during the storm; the book was laying on the shelf, etc It is only necessary to remember, in all such cases, that laid is the preterit of lay, and not of lie. {To lie along the shore} (Naut.), to coast, keeping land in sight. {To lie at the door of}, to be imputable to as the sin, blame, etc., lies at your door. {To lie at the heart}, to be an object of affection, desire, or anxiety. --Sir W. Temple. {To lie at the mercy of}, to be in the power of {To lie by}. a To remain with to be at hand; as he has the manuscript lying by him b To rest; to intermit labor; as we lay by during the heat of the day {To lie hard} or {heavy}, to press or weigh; to bear hard. {To lie in}, to be in childbed; to bring forth young. {To lie in one}, to be in the power of to belong to ``As much as lieth in you live peaceably with all men.'' --Rom. xii. 18. {To lie in the way}, to be an obstacle or impediment. {To lie in wait}, to wait in concealment; to lie in ambush. {To lie on} or {upon}. a To depend on as his life lies on the result. b To bear, rest, press, or weigh on {To lie low}, to remain in concealment or inactive. [Slang] {To lie on hand}, {To lie on one's hands}, to remain unsold or unused; as the goods are still lying on his hands; they have too much time lying on their hands. {To lie on the head of}, to be imputed to What he gets more of her than sharp words let it lie on my head. --Shak. {To lie over}. a To remain unpaid after the time when payment is due, as a note in bank. b To be deferred to some future occasion, as a resolution in a public deliberative body. {To lie to} (Naut.), to stop or delay; especially, to head as near the wind as possible as being the position of greatest safety in a gale; -- said of a ship. Cf {To bring to}, under {Bring}. {To lie under}, to be subject to to suffer; to be oppressed by {To lie with}. a To lodge or sleep with b To have sexual intercourse with c To belong to as it lies with you to make amends. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: lay adj 1: concerning those not members of the clergy; "set his collar in laic rather than clerical position"; "the lay ministry"; "the choir sings both sacred and secular music" [syn: {laic}, {secular}] 2: not of or from a profession; "a lay opinion as to the cause of the disease" n 1: a narrative song with a recurrent refrain [syn: {ballad}] 2: a narrative poem of popular origin [syn: {ballad}] v 1: put into a certain place: "Put your things here"; "Set the tray down"; "Set the dogs on the scent of the mising children"; also with abstract objects and locations: "Place emphasis on a certain point" [syn: {put}, {set}, {place}, {pose}, {position}] 2: put in a horizontal position; "lay the books on the table"; "lay the patient carefully onto the bed" [syn: {put down}, {repose}] 3: prepare or position for action or operation; "lay a fire"; "lay the foundation for a new health care plan" 4: lay eggs; of female animals; "This hen doesn't lay" 5: impose as a duty, burden, or punishment; "lay a reponsibility on someone"
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